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Printing from Adobe Illustrator (quality is terrible)
Hey guys,
I'm trying to print some small labels about 0.625" in diameter from Adobe Illustrator CS. I'm using a logo that was made with Illustrator and looks excellent on screen.
The issue I'm having is that, when I print it looks terrible. The lines are jagged and it's pretty blurry.
I'm assuming that I must be missing something.
I'm trying to print from a Dell 2130cn Color Laser Printer. The specs say that it can do up to 600DPI. I know it can print much sharper than what I'm seeing... I just do know what settings to adjust to get it to print correctly from Illustrator.
I've also tried exporting to a PDF but still, the quality is pretty poor.
I'm trying to print some small labels about 0.625" in diameter from Adobe Illustrator CS. I'm using a logo that was made with Illustrator and looks excellent on screen.
The issue I'm having is that, when I print it looks terrible. The lines are jagged and it's pretty blurry.
I'm assuming that I must be missing something.
I'm trying to print from a Dell 2130cn Color Laser Printer. The specs say that it can do up to 600DPI. I know it can print much sharper than what I'm seeing... I just do know what settings to adjust to get it to print correctly from Illustrator.
I've also tried exporting to a PDF but still, the quality is pretty poor.
In Print properties> go to size option nd select shrink oversized pages.iN orientation> auto portrait/landscapse
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ASKER
Thank you for explaining everything! I was able to print a much better quality version by actually exporting it to PDF and printing from Acrobat. Your solution guided me in the right direction.
Still not as sharp as I'd hoped, but MUCH better than before. It appears the rest is just a limitation of my printer.
Still not as sharp as I'd hoped, but MUCH better than before. It appears the rest is just a limitation of my printer.
> It appears the rest is just a limitation of my printer.
About halfway through the answer I gave, I remembered that I was called upon to do some small labels on the companies color laser printer. I remember that I worked and worked with that thing before I came to realize that I just wasn't going to get the detail from a laser that I would from an inkjet.
Glad to hear you found a suitable solution.
About halfway through the answer I gave, I remembered that I was called upon to do some small labels on the companies color laser printer. I remember that I worked and worked with that thing before I came to realize that I just wasn't going to get the detail from a laser that I would from an inkjet.
Glad to hear you found a suitable solution.
ASKER
I always thought laser printers were better than inkjets.
Is there an reasonably priced inkjet printer that you could recommend taking a look at? The labels I'll be printing all follow the same template, however the colors on them will change depending on the product purchased. For instance, one label may have blue and yellow in it and the next one might have pink, red, and gold, and the next one black and orange, etc.
I'd really like to take control of this versus outsourcing it to a 3rd party printing company.
Is there an reasonably priced inkjet printer that you could recommend taking a look at? The labels I'll be printing all follow the same template, however the colors on them will change depending on the product purchased. For instance, one label may have blue and yellow in it and the next one might have pink, red, and gold, and the next one black and orange, etc.
I'd really like to take control of this versus outsourcing it to a 3rd party printing company.
The downside of printing with inkjets is the dang cost of the ink. That is where, historically, laser printers had the advantage. This has all changed lately in that manufacturers have learned that they can make smaller toner cartridges and fill them with little of no ink and charge a fortune as well.
The other advantage has been the water resistance of the ink, however inkjets have become much better resistant to moisture once they dried.
At work, we joke that it is much more economical these days to buy a new inkjet and throw it away after it runs out of ink. It is a fact that you can buy a new printer for less than the cost of a full set of cartridges.
If speed of printing and paper size is not an issue, I would buy the least expensive printer that I could. They almost all have the same print head and delivery mechanics (within individual brands) as the more expensive printers (in the consumer line). Be sure to buy one with individual color cartridges.
If you think you will be doing high volume printing, I have had very good luck in the past with a Continuous Ink System such as:
http://www.cisinks.com/
and
http://www.americaninkjetsystems.com/desktop_bulk_ink_systems.html
and
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/163388-Mediastreet-Niagara-II-Bulk-Ink-System-w-Plug-and-Play-Ink-Epson
In fact, Epson has smelled the coffee and come out with their own:
http://www.inkjetmall.com/wordpress/industry-news/epson-releases-new-cis-system-printers/
The other advantage has been the water resistance of the ink, however inkjets have become much better resistant to moisture once they dried.
At work, we joke that it is much more economical these days to buy a new inkjet and throw it away after it runs out of ink. It is a fact that you can buy a new printer for less than the cost of a full set of cartridges.
If speed of printing and paper size is not an issue, I would buy the least expensive printer that I could. They almost all have the same print head and delivery mechanics (within individual brands) as the more expensive printers (in the consumer line). Be sure to buy one with individual color cartridges.
If you think you will be doing high volume printing, I have had very good luck in the past with a Continuous Ink System such as:
http://www.cisinks.com/
and
http://www.americaninkjetsystems.com/desktop_bulk_ink_systems.html
and
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/163388-Mediastreet-Niagara-II-Bulk-Ink-System-w-Plug-and-Play-Ink-Epson
In fact, Epson has smelled the coffee and come out with their own:
http://www.inkjetmall.com/wordpress/industry-news/epson-releases-new-cis-system-printers/
ASKER
Thanks a ton!